


Three Minutes

by saisei



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23403544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saisei/pseuds/saisei
Summary: Iris wants to join the Crownsguard, two years early and in the middle of a world plunged into darkness and haunted by daemons at every turn.Gladio wants to keep her safe. He wants to be able to focus on doing his job – protecting Noct's people in his absence, assisting in Iggy's quest to find a way to save Noct's life and still get rid of Scourge – without always being afraid that Iris is out there without him. That she might suffer or die and he'd never know.He has three minutes to decide what to do, as her brother and as an Amicitia.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19
Collections: FFXV Book Club Monthly Sprint Prompts





	Three Minutes

"Give me ten minutes to think this over," Gladio says. He's begging, but he doubts Iris is surprised; she's his baby sister, and he's always been weak for her.

And now she's his only living relative.

"How about no minutes," Iris shoots back. Her eyes have a hardness to them that Gladio hates putting there, like she's already resigned to his failure.

"Five minutes."

She crosses her arms. "Three. And that's only because I love you."

Gladio grabs her and hugs her cranky Moogle butt so hard her feet leave the ground and she snorts laughter. "Love you, too."

"Clock's ticking," Iris manages to wheeze out. "You're wasting time."

 _No_ , Gladio thinks as he puts her down, _I'm reminding myself of what I could lose._ He leaves his arm around her shoulders and walks them back across the Haven to where their chairs sit on either side of the campfire. Iris is making a big show of setting the timer on her phone. She's still such a kid; she just turned sixteen. Unlike Gladio, who'd left school after completing his compulsory education, Dad would have let Iris go to high school – not just because he doted on her for being the spitting image of Mom, but also because that's how Amicitias use their kids.

The oldest – or, to be honest, most suitable – is trained as Shield. Their siblings are expected to go into politics, military research, medicine, or whatever else serves the King or Queen best. Dad had talked about Iris getting into law school.

And now she wants to join the Crownsguard, two years early and in the middle of a world plunged into darkness and haunted by daemons at every turn.

Gladio wants to keep her safe. He wants to be able to focus on doing his job – protecting Noct's people in his absence, assisting in Iggy's quest to find a way to save Noct's life and still get rid of Scourge – without always being afraid that Iris is out there without him. That she might suffer or die and he'd never know.

That happens a lot. Every set of dogtags he picks up has an unknown story of pain like that behind it. Thinking about a world without Iris makes Gladio want to throw up. He _has_ to protect her; with Noct in the hands of the gods, Gladio's cowardly secret is that he motivates himself with Iris' happiness sometimes. He's given her a good home in Lestallum, where she's cared for and safe.

"Ninety seconds," Iris says, and her chipper tone is fake. He can tell she thinks he's going to let her down.

Because... she's not like one of the precious ancient Solheim texts that Ignis risks his life for. He carries them back as carefully as if they're sleeping babies, and he pays a stupid amount to the university in return for storage space with optimal temperature, humidity, and lighting conditions, plus someone to read the relevant parts out loud.

You can protect books, or necklaces, or even swords like that, put them in a case or a safe. But a sister is different.

He could lose Iris – her respect, her love, her honesty – by stifling her. Of course she wants to join up and serve her people. She's an Amicitia; service runs in her blood. If Gladio was in her boots, he'd be crawling the walls from the inaction. And he sure as fuck would resent anyone who held him back.

"Time's up," Iris says. Her phone beeps a moment later, and she swipes it off. She pulls her knees up under her chin and wraps her arms around her legs. Like a little kid braced for bad news.

Gladio sucks in a breath and leans forward, planting his elbows on his knees, hoping Iris can see his expression clearly in the firelight. "You're not Shield to the King, so you still have to stick to the rules – which I didn't make, don't get on my ass about that. Crownsguard from eighteen." Iris tightens her jaw. "But that gives you two years to get a head start on training," Gladio continues. "We can loop Cor in, and he can give you the traditional asskicking. Or..." He's less certain about this alternative; he'll have to cash in a bunch of favors. "I can ask Aranea to take you on as a recruit. It'd mean getting into the field faster, but you'd have to learn what she needs you to do, which might mean you'd be missing some key areas of training at eighteen. You're a smart kid, I figure you'll pick it up quick."

Iris scrubs at her face. "Shut up," she mutters. "I'm not crying."

"I want to keep you safe," Gladio admits. "Course I do. But I want you to be proud of yourself more."

"I could work with Cor and Aranea," Iris says, a bit tentative, like she's feeling out the boundaries of this new space neither of them had been prepared for. "I bet learning how to use Magitek would be useful."

"If you're going to Niflheim, definitely." Gladio kind of wants to cry thinking of his baby sister so far away, in a cold place where he couldn't rush in to help her. But... probably that's how she feels when he's gone. Being an Amicitia means always balancing on the edge between fear and trust. "I'm glad you gave me this heads-up," he adds. "Gives me a couple of years to find an artist worthy of doing your tattoos."

Iris' face glows as she grins at him, and Gladio smiles back. His heart is light; he made the right decision, he thinks.


End file.
